I have a mistress, for perfections rare
In every eye, but in my thought most fair.
Like tapers on the altar shine her eyes;
Her breath is the perfume of sacrifice;
And wheresoe'er my fancy would begin,
Still her perfection lets religion in.
We sit and talk, and kiss away the hours
As chastely as the morning dews kiss flowers;
I touch her, like my beads, with devout care,
And come unto my courtship as my prayer.
Thomas Randolph
